Search Engine Optimization is a term we are too familiar with, but least concerned with. Let’s talk about a small business for awhile. A person initiates to develop his business endeavors into a reality and soon stumbles upon the cheeky task of developing a website. Hmm okay, that was the easy part as compared to what lies beyond… (What’s next?)

After the completion of website, the main question is to start the little SEO oriented project. The question however is, Should I do SEO for my website myself, or should I hire someone to do it for me?

Let me tell you, you are doing the same thing that other small business owners already did and failed at a couple of times. Why don’t you take a look at some common questions and then figure out the decision;

Do I know the first thing about “doing” SEO?

SEO isn’t exactly your rocket science theory but there are hidden tactics and some old practiced formulas, which normally SEO experts don’t like to share. Some people devise their own methods for effective SEO and they’re pretty good at it. If you’re just going to follow the Googled SEO tips, then you are most likely skimming the surface of SEO. The choice is yours…

With my new business flourishing, do I have enough time to dote it on my SEO thing?

Time is an important factor in SEO. Your job is to do your part as quickly as possible; the rest depends on crawlers and search engines. The results might take weeks or even months. Also, SEO duties need to be performed rigorously on weekly or daily basis…

Do I want to do my website’s SEO on my own?

You probably and most likely want to avoid spending money, so I am not gonna ask you the question because I already know the answer; “Yes, SEO is easy, I think I can do it on my own…” Somewhere, down the road, you will be pulling your hair out because your SEO tactics didn’t work. The ones that do work, well… professionals hardly share them with anyone.

So why don’t we step back a little and take an inch-by-inch approach? We recommend you to hire a small time SEO firm to do your job for you. Rest assured, satisfaction and quality will NOT be guaranteed unless and until you have been monitoring these guys strictly. A long time ago, I remember we were consulting with an SEO firm (name not taken here because I still have a shred of respect for them, even though I don’t have to), they were found to be cheating their clients.

Thanks to Casey Nolan, I was informed that the said company was using link farming and low level link building techniques to drive traffic to their clients’ websites. Was I shocked? Yes, I was. The next step was to immediately fire those turds and get back to hiring someone truly professional at search engine optimization.